New Nuclear Weapon’s Costs

June 23, 2016

To the Editor:

“A Nuclear Arm the U.S. Doesn’t Need,” by Dianne Feinstein and Ellen O. Tauscher (Op-Ed, June 18), asserted that the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration has not revealed cost estimates for its portion of the Pentagon’s new nuclear weapon, the Long-Range Standoff Weapon: namely, extending the life of the W-80 warhead for the Air Force’s cruise missile.

Every year, the agency delivers to Congress and the public a Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, providing a 25-year budget outlook. The fiscal year 2017 plan, published in March, forecasts cost estimates for the W-80 life extension in the $7.3 billion to $9.9 billion range over 17 years of development, engineering and production.

These forecasts will be further refined through both internal and independent cost estimates as the agency follows the Energy Department’s new rigorous approach to managing large programs.

The Union of Concerned Scientists has called the yearly stockpile management plan “the most comprehensive long-term planning document related to nuclear weapons available from anywhere in the U.S. government.”

We will continue this transparency on budgets and timelines for programs vital to ensuring that America’s remaining nuclear arsenal is safe, secure and effective.